First Bancorp

First Bancorp owns First Bank, a state-chartered bank based in Southern Pines, North Carolina, that began operating in 1935. It is the fourth-largest commercial bank holding company headquartered in the state, with $12.7 billion in assets, $8.7 billion in loans and $10.7 billion in deposits as of December 31, 2025. Most customers are individuals and small and medium-sized businesses in North and South Carolina.

It earns nearly all its money from net interest income: the gap between interest collected on loans and securities and interest paid on deposits and borrowings. In 2025 that totaled $398.2 million; other income netted to a loss of about $7.9 million, leaving revenue of $390.3 million. Lending leans toward businesses, especially commercial real estate such as shops, offices and warehouses; retail property was about 13% of loans. Niches include Magnolia Financial, which advances cash against businesses' unpaid invoices and inventory, and CarBucks, which finances small used-car dealers' inventory.

It does not report revenue by segment or region. As of December 31, 2025, its largest loan exposures were in New Hanover (9.5% of loans), Wake (9.4%) and Mecklenburg (8.2%) counties in North Carolina. Growth came partly through acquisitions, including Select Bancorp in 2021 and GrandSouth in 2023, which added eight South Carolina branches and expanded its presence in Greenville, Charleston and Columbia.

• In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $129.9M, up 45% from a year earlier, and net income was $51.3M (+151.8%).
• For fiscal 2025, revenue was $390.3M (+11.5% year over year; +5.4% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 28.5% net margin.

• Over FY2021–FY2025: $5.0M in buybacks and $161.4M in dividends.
• Regular dividend per share increased 1 years in a row.
• Regular dividends per share grew +4.8% a year over 5 years (FY2020–FY2025).
• Dividends took 33.6% of earnings in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed +16.3% from Nov 8, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

First Bancorp’s market value went from $546.0M at the end of 2016 to $2.62B on Oct 28, 2026, about 4.8 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 25%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 1 open-market purchases ($15K) and 4 sales ($4.3M).

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in FBNC

1. Tied to the Carolinas economy. Most customers and loans are in North and South Carolina. A regional recession, job losses or falling property values there would hit loan demand, deposits and repayments together.
2. Heavy commercial real estate lending. Much of the loan book is backed by commercial property. As of December 31, 2025, retail space was about 13% of total loans and offices rented to tenants about 6%. Falling values could raise losses.
3. Small-business borrowers are more vulnerable. Most business loans go to small and middle-market firms with fewer resources. Tariffs, policy shifts or changing customer behavior could push defaults above the bank's allowance for credit losses, its bad-loan reserve.
4. Interest rate moves can squeeze profits. Revenue depends almost entirely on net interest income, the gap between loan and deposit rates. Rate changes can narrow that gap and lower the value of the bank's bonds, reducing reported shareholders' equity.
5. Deals can dilute existing shareholders. The bank has grown through acquisitions. Future deals may be paid in new shares, shrinking each owner's stake, and an acquisition that disappoints could force a write-down of the premium paid, hitting profits.
6. Uninsured deposits could leave quickly. Some deposits exceed FDIC insurance limits. In a scare, those customers may withdraw fast, forcing costlier borrowing or losses on assets turned into cash quickly.

• Oct 21, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Sep 15, 2026 Other company announcement
• Jul 22, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jul 14, 2026 Major agreement signed; Other company announcement
• Jun 12, 2026 Other company announcement
• Apr 29, 2026 Shareholder vote results
• Apr 28, 2026 Executive or board change
• Apr 22, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Mar 13, 2026 Other company announcement
• Mar 2, 2026 Executive or board change

First Bancorp pays a dividend, but raises have been uneven. Dividends per share grew from $0.72 in 2020 to $0.91 in 2025, about 4.8% a year, yet held at $0.88 from 2022 through 2024, so the streak of increases was one year. Dividends paid in 2025 took 33.6% of net income, a moderate share. The yield was 1.5% as of October 28, 2026. Buybacks were minor: about $5 million over 2021–2025, against $161 million in dividends. The share count rose 16.2% between November 2021 and July 2026, diluting existing owners.

Downturns have hit the stock hard. It fell 63.8% in the 2008 financial crisis and needed about 59 months after the March 2009 low to recover. It dropped 47.3% in the 2020 COVID crash, recovering in about 10 months, and 30.6% in 2022, recovering in about four. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund, since one company's troubles can cut both its price and its dividend.